Okay, I know it's not popular, but I am a Myst anti-fan. I have nothing against beautiful graphics, but I do have something against first-person adventures that are devoid of people (and thus dialog) and that focus on mechanical puzzles. Give me a third-person inventory-based adventure where I have to question lots of people and I am a happy girl. Happy, happy girl.

Here's the question: what recent games (meaning, still on the shelves) do you think would appeal to one such as me? I installed an old game yesterday -- Shivers -- with great excitement, then realized it was very Myst-like and became instantly frustrated. Especially for newer games, I don't want to go through this. I have so little time to allow for game-playing as it is.

I too prefer 3rd person games, so don't feel bad. (I have played and enjoyed some 1st person games too, but Myst is not one of them).

Right now I'm playing "Largo Winch - Empire Under Threat". If you don't mind keyboard controls and some action (turn based combat, so no fast reflexes needed) you might like this one. It only been released in Europe, so you'd have to order it online. (try softwarefirst.com)

Law & Order is actualy 1st person, but there are lots of inventory items to collect , and lots of people to question, in both the police investigation part of the game, and later in the trial part. If you're a fan of the show, you'll probably like this one.

If you can find Mystery of the Druids on sale anywhere, you might like that. It's a 3rd person mystery game. It got mixed reviews, but I know a number of folks here enjoyed it.

A recent release that many of us have had fun with is "Eye of the Kracken". It's a 3rd person 'cartoon' adventure set on board a ship. Made by a small independent company. You can check it out here: Eye of the Kracken!

While I enjoy third person games, I have a feeling that it's not the "first-person-ness" that bothers me in other games. I think it's the lack of other people and stuff to mess with that alienates me. So, even if it is first-person, I will give it a go if it has the right other elements.

Are there any games in the following list that you would suggest I remove, based on my preferences? (or because they are bad?)

- Alfred Hitchcock: The Final Cut- Dracula Resurrection- Dracula The Last Sanctuary- The Last Express- Discworld Noir- Ripley

If you're looking for conversations with people, the Alfred Hitchcok game definitely has it. As well as 'The Watchmaker' (which other people mentioned.)

'Jazz and Faust' is a 'conversational' type game (you play it twice, once as Jazz and once as Faust.)

Both Dracula games would probably work for you also. I think the Ripley game would fit into your category also.

Other games you might consider are the 'Gabriel Knight' series (the last was 'Gabriel Knight3.'

A couple of others you might consider are 'Arthur's Knights - Tales of Chivalry' and the follow-on, 'Arthur's Knights II - The Secret of Merlin.' The only problem is both games are very similar except that one takes place in the winter and the other in (what looks like) the summer. There are a few minor differences but the makers for the most part used the same locations.

Games I have enjoyed in the past include the Gabriel Knight series, Grim Fandango, Tex Murphy games (started with Meanstreets), Laura Bow series, Monkey Island series, Blade Runner, and lots of old games. I did most of my adventure gaming between 1981-1995. I haven't been able to play many adventures in the last 7 years, which has put me out of the loop.

I am a die hard 3rd person fan. Based on that list you made, the game I think you will enjoy the most is Discworld Noir. It is a fnatastic game. For recent games as others have mentioned you r best bet is The Longest Journey and Syberia. There is also the latest Monkey island which I think you will enjoy. Eye of the Kracken and Passages are 2 independent games wich you should also consider. Broken Sowrd while quite old is excellent. Sanitarium is also very good but it is more of a dark plot.

Hi,I agree with Betje. You should probably take Morpheus off your list. I am playing Morpheus right now (an older game, I was lucky to find it), and I love it, but it's a pretty lonely game, with no live people interaction.

Lonely games are fine with me, as are games with more people to interact with. I do tend to like moody, atmospheric games, and game visuals are very important to me. I flit between first and third person games. Third person games tell more of a story (often), but with first person games, you feel you are really in the game. I do love Myst with a devoted passion, but I do realize that some people would rather watch paint dry than play the game.

It will certainly be helpful to have a sense of which games are a little too much like Myst for my tastes the next time I go hunting for games. Like you, I'm particularly fond of an adventure game with dialogue and conversatonal paths.

I loaded up Zork Grand Inquisitor recently and thought, Oh dear, but the game has won me over with rather good voice acting, and its brand of humour. There's even a dig at Myst in there.

I'm interested in a number of games and I was wondering if other Gameboomers would consider the following similar to Myst:

Oh, thank you, MacDee. I'd read reports that Amber was rather creepy, and had thought that of the lot, that would be least Myst-like, but I suppose there are other ways of creating that kind of atmosphere other than conversation.

Probably not the best choice. Disappointing if you're expecting something of Hitchcock's calibre. But I thought it was an OK if short game. It's 3rd person.

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- Dracula Resurrection- Dracula The Last Sanctuary

Probably not as much interaction with others as you'd like. But more than others. I preferred Dracula Resurrection because I didn't have that ridiculous-looking giant bat eating me the way I did in the second game. Also, Dracula Sanctuary is full of sewers and I'm really not that fond of English sewers.

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- The Last Express

Lots of interaction. Real time clock. Strange save system that some people have trouble with, at least at first (instead of going back to a previous save, you turn back the clock)

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- Discworld Noir

Most people love it. Great humor.

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- Ripley's Believe it or Not: The Riddle of Master Lu

A good old-fashioned 3rd person inventory-based adventure. Has trouble with the latest video cards. People have varying degrees of luck playing it in Windows. I think it doesn't like my SBLive. It runs on a computer with an AWE 64 ISA sound card.

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- Faust

I thought Faust was great, but the plot structure is unusual. I'd hesitate to recommend it to you. Mephisto is a fun character though.

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- Sanitarium

You should play Sanitarium. The movement system is unusual - you move your character by clicking on him and dragging him the direction you want him to go. But you'll get used to that. There are a lot of interesting levels in the game.

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- Cameron Files: Secret at Loch Ness

Possibly more Myst-like than you'd want. You do talk to people, but most of the time you are investigating alone.

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- Broken Sword: Circle of Blood

If you can get it to run you're almost sure to enjoy it. It can be played in Windows 98 on some computers, but is often more stable in DOS. Ran fine with my SBLive.

It will certainly be helpful to have a sense of which games are a little too much like Myst for my tastes the next time I go hunting for games...

I'm interested in a number of games and I was wondering if other Gameboomers would consider the following similar to Myst:

[QUOTE] [b]Schizm (soon to be renamed, I think)

If you want games with interaction, avoid Schizm. You are alone on a deserted world.

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The Crystal Key

You are essentially alone in Crystal Key - except for the people who want to lock you in prison or kill you every so often.

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Amber: Journeys Beyond

You're pretty much alone in the game, since your friend is unconscious.

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The Atlantis series 1 - 3

The Atlantis games do have some interaction.Atlantis 1 has quite a bit. Unfortunately most people just want to kill you or lock you up and the game is full of timed sequences.

Atlantis 2 - there are a very few people that you talk to. For the most part you are alone and unmolested.

Atlantis 3 - More interaction with people than the second game and less death than the first. Atlantis 3 had some fun characters in it - especially the psychopomp. My major problem with it was that it ran so slow on my computer. Not everyone has this problem.

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Lightbringer/Cydonia

You're definitely alone in Lightbringer. It's more a puzzle game than an adventure, though you do do some exploring.

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Traitor's Gate

You have to avoid the guards in this one. You're a thief and have to do the job alone.

All these games you've listed are first person, feardust. Maybe you already knew that.